art & fear

this is my first finished piece from senior studio. i used acrylic paints, pastels and pencils to create shia labeouf, lil' wayne and marc jacobs. the subjects seem very random, yet i wanted to include an inspirational actor, musician and designer. i'm pleased with the outcome. however, i only plan to hang wayne in the final exhibit. i think that his portrait came out the best; it really captures his essence.

-"Talent, if it is anything, is a gift, and nothing of the artist's own making. This idea is hardly new: Plato maintained that all art is a gift from the gods, channeled through artists who are "out of their mind"- quite literally, in Plato's view- when making art."

-"Art is human; error is human; ergo, art is error."

-"The place to learn about your materials is in the last use of your materials. The place to learn about your execution is in your execution. The best information about what you love is in your last contact with what you love. Put simply, your work is your guide: a complete, comprehensive, limitless reference book on your own work."

the third quote, taken from a section entitled 'expectations', is my favorite line in the entire packet. it suggests the idea of working up instead of clearing your slate and beginning something new. while experimenting is important, there will always be traces of past work in every piece. whether it be subject matter, materials, or even format, previous work allows an artist to grow into their own personal style. i love looking through my past sketchbooks and reminiscing. even though the work may seem elementary, it is a place to start. it allows me to see the improvements i've made as an artist over the years.

my spring break was split between two exciting, inspiring places: new york city and puerto rico. over the break, i received my acceptance letter from the new school meaning i'll spend the next five years making art in manhattan. i can't even verbalize how excited i am. it feels unreal after waiting for so long... anyways, i began to brainstorm various project ideas, mostly in puerto rico. my family spent two nights at a quaint resort in the mountains of utado. i used lots of watercolors, painting the nature around me and filling in gaps with my usual gel pen designs. i hope to experiment with the sea in my future endeavors. the waves in particular are so beautiful, almost a splatter in the middle of a calm, relaxing environment. perhaps i'll try working with acrylics to recreate waves? i'd like to use some mixed media as well so it's not too cliche. right now, i'm working on a clay sculpture of my cat, mushkie. i think it will be a short, simple exercise with watered down pastels to represent her calico spots. tomorrow, during the double block, i want to work on a big, elaborate paper cut. even after many months, i still think about alexander demaria's work on a regular basis. it is so involved and detailed.. just my sort of thing. perhaps i'll do a little series of various paper cuts, different settings and objects? maybe i can incorporate the waves into this work somehow. i have a place to start and i'm just going to let my work flow from there.